Crate



C. E. GERBERICH can:

Filed June 18 1923 2 Sheets-Shoat 1 l||l Z ll IIII'IIII' .l nlllll'llnllpatented Sept. 30, 1924.

UNITED STATES I mean PATENT oFFicE.

QLARENQE E. GERBERICH, OF AURORA, ILLINUIE, ASSIGNOR '30 LYON METALLICMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLI-NOIS.

CRATE.

Application filed June 18, 1923. Serial No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARE-Non E. Gnu BERIGH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, re siding at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Crates,of which the following is a specificatime.

My invention relates to crates, particularly of the collapsible type,and the object of the invention is to provide a skeleton crate by whichsuch objects as locker doors and frames may; be shipped safely andwithout unnecessary weight in the crate. While my invention isapplicable to other structures having similar characteristics it isparticularly adapted for shipping the door frames and doors of sheetmetal lockers, and I have illustrated the invention as applied toarticles of this character.

Steel lockers are usually shipped knocked down except that it isdesirable to assemble the doors and door frames at the factory and henceit is desirable to provide means by which these assembled units may beshipped safely and with as little weight in the crate as possible. Theseunits, comprising the assembled door frames and doors, are somewhatawkward to pack as they are tall and comparatively narrow and thin. Itis my purpose to provide an advantageous form of crate by which a numberof these units, for example as many as ten, may be brought together in asingle package and held rigidly together by mere surface contact indistinction to the use of bolts or other fastening devices penetratingthe units themselves. As a result of my construction it is possible toship a number of doors and door frames in a package which is ofconvenient size and shape and in which the parts will be held withoutrattling and without permitting injury to them in any way.

I accomplish my object in the manner illustrated, in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the crate andcontents.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Figure 1, a portion ofthe crate backs being broken away to show the internal construction;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a pair of backs with their tierods.

a sectional view on the line hinged to frames comprising lintels 2,sills 3 and side members i. lllhesc latter are flanged at the edges inaccordance with usual custom, the purpose being to stiilen the structureand improve its appearance Referring now to the parts embodying mypresent invention, backs 8 are arranged in pairs parallel and oppositeto each other, the same being horizontal when the doors are vertical asshown in perspective in Figure 1. These backs, which are shown on anincreased scale in perspective in Figure 3, have longitudinal channels10 which protrude outward. One function of these channels is to stiffenthe construction. Air other function is to make it possible to formcountersinks 12 for accommodating the heads and nuts 14 of the tie rods16 which hold the backs together when in transit. The arrangement isshown sectionally in Figure 5 where it will be evident that thecountersinks are apertured at the center to receive the tie rods and areof such size as to readily accommodate the heads or nuts 14 of the rods.

On the inner side the backs are provided with stalls which arethei'nselves channeled and bridge the channels in the backs. Accordingto one construction the backs and stalls are of sheet metal and thecentral. portion or base 18 of each stall is spotwelded to the upper andlower portions of the backs. Such spot welding is indicated at 20 Figure4. The flanges 22 of the stalls extend inward toward the opposite backand by preference they are slightly divergent as illustrated. Thepurpose is to make it easier to insert the door frame and also to holdthe door frame snugly in place when the backs are drawn up tightly. Inother ,words, the frames are wedged into place when the tie rods aredrawn tight.

While it is not essential it is desirable that the stalls be formed of asingle piece of sheet metal and in some of the stalls illustrated in thedrawings it will be observed that two of them are made from a singlepiece of metal, the stalls thus occurring in pairs. This in-ei ases thecapacity of the crate. The stalls are spaced apart to accoznmediate thetie rods 16 which pass between them. This also affords space for thedoor knobs 1'4. In the body of the structure a tie rod occurs betweeneach double stall.

The operation will now be readily understood. l i hen it is desired tomake a shipnient, a group of door and door frame units are broughttogether in approximately cor rect position and the backsare applied tothe frames in such manner that the edges of the frames will enter thestalls. The number of pairs of backs employed may varied according tocircumstances and in Figure l l have shown a package consisting of threepairs of backs with their EICCOIR- panymg tie rods. The tie rods arethen tightened and the door frames become wedged tightly and seated inthe stalls the result being that when the assemblage is complete theentire package will be still and will not wrack in any way. 'lhe packagemay then be safely shipped and by arranging the faces of the doorsinward all danger of scratching the outer faces during shipment isavoided. It will be evident that the weight of the crate elements addsvery little to the weight of the goods to be shipped, which is of coursea great advantage as it saves weight both in shipping the goods to thepoint of destination and in returning the crates to the factory in caseit is found desirable to do so. it will be evident also that the backsare all alike, there being no rights or lefts, or tops or bottoms. Theresult is that they may be used interchangeably and may occupy anyposition in the package.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A crate con'iprising backs designed to be arranged parallel andopposite to each other, stalls on the inner faces of said backs, saidstalls consisting of channel shaped elements having their flanges facinginward and the central portion secured to said backs, some of saidstalls being spaced from each other, and tie rods extending from oneback to the other at the spaces between stalls.

2. .a crate com rising hacks for arrange ment parallel and opposite toeach other, stalls on the inner faces of said bucks consisting ofchannel shaped elements having their flanges extending: inward anddiverging from each other. the central portion of the stalls beingsecured to said backs. and said stalls being); spaced from each other,and tie rods extending "from one hack to the other at the spaceslJJtWCQn the stalls.

3. fr crate conipiisiiin SlMGi; nu hacks for arrangeniezil parallel andopp site to each other, stalls on the inner faces of said backsconsisting oi channel-amped elements having their flanges extendinginward. said stalls consisting of single pieces of configurated sheetmetal. some of the stalls l)l'lll f spa-c lroni each other. and tie rodsextending from one back to the other ill the spaces between the stalls.

4. A crate comprising sheet metal backs tor arrangement parallel andoppisitc to each other, each back heme channeled lengthwise and thechannel protruding outward, stalls on the inner laces of said backsbridging the channels therein and themselves con "lug: oi channeled.members L whose flanges extend inward toward the opposite back, and tierods lior drawing said backs towa d each other.

5. A crate comprising sheet mei'ul bucks designed for placement paralleland opposite to each other. each back being channeled lengthwise and thechannel protruding out ward, stalls on the inner laces of said backs;running transverse to the hacks and bride ing the channels therein, someof the slalls on each back being spaced from each other, and tie rodsextending from one back to the other for drawing the backs toward eachother, the channeled portions of the backs being countersunk at spacedintew vals whereby the heads oi the tie rods may be countersunk in thebacks.

In witness whereof, l have hereunto subscribed my name.

CLARENCE ll (-1 EBB lilhlCl-l.

